


We Wish You a Merry Christmas

by Asterne_In_a_Sky, MidoriKurenaiYume



Series: Winter Wonderland [10]
Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Shopping, Dialogue, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-16 22:23:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16962591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asterne_In_a_Sky/pseuds/Asterne_In_a_Sky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: When going Christmas shopping, feelings can be revealed.





	We Wish You a Merry Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Tenth Winter story :) (we had actually outlined this one in January 2018!)  
> ([here](https://agilartlogbook.tumblr.com/post/181217013965/we-wish-you-a-merry-christmas) on tumblr)
> 
>  **Asterne_In_a_Sky** :Some parts were inspired by the F/Extella official art with Gilgamesh and the tiger cubs. Hope you guys enjoy the story ;) 
> 
> **MidoriKurenaiYume** : even GilArt can have Christmas confessions sometimes ;D hope you will enjoy, and check out Christy's drawing on tumblr!
> 
> Title: from a Christmas song, that was also sung by Kalafina and recorded on their album 'Winter Acoustic ~ Kalafina with strings' ;)  
> THEME: love.

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It hadn’t been Gilgamesh’s idea, but strangely enough, he had not been against it when Arturia had suggested they take half a day off to go Christmas shopping.

Of course, being Gilgamesh, he had not agreed without demanding something in return, and they had reached a compromise: he would come with her shopping in the afternoon, as long as she went out to dinner with him in the evening.

It had come with a lot of arguing, because Arturia was currently looking after a little tiger cub that had gotten lost and the zoo still hadn’t had the chance to come pick it up, and she was reluctant to leave it alone for long periods of time. Since he wouldn’t however budge on his request, they had finally come to an agreement.

It wasn’t too surprising that Arturia wanted to go Christmas shopping for presents since, even though neither of them had a large group of friends, she was determined to get presents for all of them nonetheless. She had always had a soft spot for Christmas, he knew, because her older brother Kay had used to make it magical for her by dressing up as Santa Claus and delivering her presents.

Her favourite gift had been a wooden model of a sword she had insisted upon christening Caliburn – and had kept on her bedside table for years – but Gilgamesh remembered that she had been equally smitten with a lion doll, which always made him smirk since it had been from him. She hadn’t been aware of it until just a few days before, as for some reason he had not felt the need to tell her the truth, simply content with knowing that his present had made her happy.

Her reaction had been hilarious though, since she had obviously felt conflicted between thanking him and being suspicious of his motives; he had decided not to clarify her confusion, and even though he had given his terms, in the end he had not refused when she had asked him along for the shopping.

 

Gilgamesh was spending the afternoon in mostly looking at Arturia rather than participating in the search for presents, since he had only bought something for Enkidu and then refused to take anything else except grudgingly carry a bag or two for her when he noticed that she was about to fall over from the sheer quantity of them.

He did pay attention and place a few careful comments here and there though, to study her reaction. Specifically, while she was looking through jewellery to find something to give to Rin, he occasionally pointed at some pendants, and had the answer he was looking for when her eyes lit up at seeing a very cute one in the shape of a lion.

It was starting to snow lightly, and Gilgamesh decided he had to take advantage of Arturia’s distraction while he could. They had finally finished choosing presents for everyone, they were in a street full of shops but thankfully with few people, she was holding many bags filled with gifts and he was holding some of his own; he suddenly stopped walking and turned around to face her.

She stared at him with some surprise. Having less bags to hold, he easily found the small box he was looking for and took out the necklace with the golden lion he had purchased a short while before, and nonchalantly leaned forward to fasten it around her neck, lifting her scarf gently as he did so.

“This one is for you,” he explained easily, and as she kept staring at him in slight confusion, he grasped her hands full of bags in his, leaned forward even more and rapidly pressed his lips against hers.

For an instant, nothing happened. Then slowly, Gilgamesh watched her eyes fall shut and he realized that Arturia was applying pressure against his lips as well.

 _She was responding to his kiss_.

His hold on her hands tightened and he leaned even more forward, closing his eyes as well and beginning to think that this whole Christmas season definitely had its perks…

Once they needed air, however, the contact between them ceased. Arturia’s cheeks were slightly flushed, but her gaze was firm as she looked at him, even though she could not hide the fact that her pupils were dilated. His crimson eyes sparkled with fond amusement, watching her brush her fingers against the necklace and trying to find her composure even as she gave him an odd glance filled with unexpected doubt.

He didn’t like the fact that he could read indecision and uncertainty in her green eyes, which told him that she wasn’t sure what to make of their sudden kiss.

Before he had the chance to say anything, however, she had managed to force her features into an unreadable mask. There were several long moments of silence before Arturia cleared her throat.

“It’s almost evening,” she observed, with a forced ease that he didn’t like at all. “I promised I would go out to dinner with you. However, before that, I need to drop off my bags at home and check on the cub.”

She had not given the tiger cub a name because she couldn’t risk getting too attached to it, since it was going to go back to the zoo in just a few days.

Gilgamesh gave her a nod and followed her without a word as they walked back to her place. He would have had a lot to say, in fact, he _did_ have a lot to say, but he could sense that she was trying very hard to regain some semblance of composure and would rebuff any attempt he made at conversation.

With quite some dissatisfaction, he therefore made the decision not to break the silence.

Once they reached her house, however, he was done waiting. The snow had stopped falling for a while but was now beginning to softly fill the air again, minuscule snowflakes surrounding them and flying around aimlessly. As she started fumbling with her many bags to find the keys, he took some of them to help her in her task and, seeing her glance at him, he leaned forward again.

His eyes fell to her lips, and he noticed that hers did the same…

But this time, she abruptly extended an arm and prevented him from coming any closer.

She could see him look at her somewhat questioningly, but she wasn’t about to try to explain what she was feeling. Earlier, when they had kissed, it had been a more or less perfect moment and she had felt no need to analyze it more carefully – but right now, she was too much on edge to be confident she could make choices she wouldn’t regret later. Furthermore, she disliked the fact that she was giving him the impression that he could touch her whenever he pleased.

He seemed a bit startled by her brusque rejection, but did not appear to want to fight it and instead accepted it, much to her astonishment. Gilgamesh wasn’t exactly known for being a calm, understanding and considerate person, and that made his acceptance even stranger. At the very least, his behaviour proved that his reaction at her pushing him away was not one of someone who had taken offence.

Holding all her bags more securely, Arturia finally managed to take out her keys and unlock the door.

As soon as it opened, however, she didn’t have the time to do anything as the tiger cub easily sneaked out, happily scurrying towards the small garden. Due to the – far too many – bags, Arturia couldn’t move fast enough to stop it, much less catch it.

Gilgamesh didn’t have such a problem and, before she could say anything, he effortlessly caught the runaway one.

“I must have forgotten to close the other doors inside,” Arturia acknowledged, well aware of the fact that that was the only possible way in which the lively tiger cub had managed to leave its playroom.

Knowing that Gilgamesh wasn’t going to let it get away, she hurried to take the bags inside and discard her heavy coat so that she had her hands free again.

She therefore missed how the spirited cub managed to bury its nose and paws in the snow that had just started to form in the garden before Gilgamesh hastily scooped it up. She also missed how the enthusiastic animal tried to lick his face and not even Gilgamesh’s usually impressive glare managed to dissuade it.

What she did not miss was seeing the tiger cub snuggling into his arms contently, as if looking for a protection, to add to its fur, from the biting cold. From its apparently rather comfortable position, it then eyed the snowflakes the were beginning to cover Gilgamesh’s coat, looking more than ready to start licking them too.

Arturia couldn’t deny that she was slightly startled at seeing how happy the cub seemed to be, but she had to actively fight against a smile when she noticed Gilgamesh’s scowl.

She watched them for a while longer before dryly remarking, successfully making him raise his head to look at her, “I hope you won’t be holding any children like that, Gilgamesh.”

Her slight smile betrayed the fact that it wasn’t a true critique; she was clearly glad that the little tiger was fine.

His reply came almost immediately nonetheless.

“That certainly depends on whose children they will be.”

He paused briefly, deliberately letting her feel the full effect of what he was implying, before mercifully continuing, “I must say I’m impressed though. How you have been taking care of this cub seems rather arcane to me, given its… feistiness.”

As if to prove him right, the cub chose that moment to insistently start pulling at the buttons of his coat with its paws.

Arturia had managed not to blush at his words, but she was aware that it had been a narrow escape. Calmly, she therefore retorted, “Given that it’s so young, it’s usually very receptive to the mood. It’s happy now, which means that you must be doing something right.”

Instead of giving her a dirty look, as she had partially expected, Gilgamesh smirked and said, seemingly ignoring her comment, “He is quite the fiery animal. Have you named him?”

Amusement filled Arturia as she corrected him, “ _Her_ , Gilgamesh.” She smiled innocently at his raised eyebrow. “And I can’t give her a name, as it would risk making her too attached.” She suddenly looked sadder, but was quick to hide that emotion. “She will go back to the zoo soon. It wouldn’t be good if she became too close.”

Gilgamesh stared at her contemplatively, wondering if she was telling the whole truth. Even though she had an apartment in the city, Arturia’s preferred residence was her big house in the open country, where she already lovingly sheltered several exotic animals and where he suspected a tiger would have felt right at home. Perhaps there were some formalities she had to go through first and she didn’t want to get her hopes up for the time being.

Be it as it may, as Arturia came closer to them, affection in her gaze, and the cub immediately rubbed its face against her gloved hand, he felt quite confident that even in case she didn’t manage to take it under her protection, Arturia was going to ensure it would be properly looked after.

As she brought her arms up to take her cub back, Gilgamesh took advantage of her momentum and, holding the mischievous cub with one arm as she picked it up as well, he used his free one to embrace her and pull her closer, successfully and steadily trapping the cub between them.

She looked up at him in surprise, and he only grinned back in triumph, tightening his hold slightly and seeming ready to nuzzle her if only she leaned a little closer.

Before either of them could decide what exactly they wanted to do in their precarious position, the cub spotted the sparkling necklace Arturia was wearing and that was now dangling next to its face. Its paw darted forward to pat it, at first timidly and then with more eagerness.

It was beginning to darken outside, the lamplights had just turned on, and the gold shimmered, reflecting in the little tiger’s fascinated eyes.

Gilgamesh’s hold tightened a bit more, and it took Arturia a second to realize that, at least this time, he had done it to both secure their joint hold on the cub and make sure they weren’t crushing it.

She looked up again, only to see his crimson eyes gleaming at her shamelessly.

“I’m looking forward to when we will be in this position again with one of our children,” he unabashedly informed her, while relentless paws happily kept playing with the lion necklace.

Arturia’s eyes would have narrowed, if she hadn’t been absolutely convinced that he was joking, and she decided to just play along.

“That would imply that we are favouring only one of them by holding them so lovingly,” she told him, her tone conveying that she was quite unimpressed.

Instead of looking annoyed, he was completely at ease and grinned once again as he countered, “Ah, but we will be holding only our youngest in our arms, while the older ones will be dashing around already, probably even making us trip on occasion.”

Arturia blinked, but any reaction she might have had was stopped by the sharp tug around her neck, caused by the cub unsuccessfully trying to trap the pendant between its paws. It gave her at least an excuse to pull back, and as she stared at the necklace, now safely out of the cub’s reach, she felt Gilgamesh’s eyes on it too. She determinedly forced herself to ignore them.

He did not seem to be deterred by the interruption though, as he undauntedly continued, “A few years from now, and we will have our children run around with a grown tiger.”

He leaned closer to her, and she could feel his breath reaching her skin. “We will be there with them, and I will still make it my mission to kiss you senseless every single day.”

She shivered suddenly, but she couldn’t honestly say whether it was because of his closeness or the lack of a coat that was beginning to affect her in the cold, now that a slight wind had picked up as well. The tiger cub stopped trying to reach her necklace and snuggled into her arms too.

Arturia glanced at the house door but, before starting to walk towards it, she gave Gilgamesh a rather stern look. The seriousness in it made his eyes sharpen.

“For any of that to happen, you had better hope that I first give you permission to kiss me at all, Gilgamesh.”

He stared at her for a moment and then replied, “Oh, I’m hoping you will let me do much more than that, my Queen.” He had the audacity to give her a smirk, before suddenly sobering up and adding, “But only once you get your coat back on.”

As if on cue, she sneezed and shivered again, noticing the snow that was both on his coat and on her clothes. The tiger cub noticed it as well and, extending a paw again in curiosity, seemed intent on taking up some, probably to taste it. To prevent that, Arturia made her necklace dingle again to distract it and swiftly made her way inside the house, indicating with a nod of her head for Gilgamesh to follow, an invitation he didn’t hesitate to accept.

He did not make any other remarks as he brushed the snow off his hair and clothes before coming in, but he did take the bags she had hurriedly dropped earlier and moved them to the table so that she could go to the cub’s playroom – formerly Arturia’s bedroom – and let it down. It didn’t look too happy to leave her arms, but it then immediately began to play with its toys, chewing on them with methodical accuracy.

In the midst of this, however, since Arturia hadn’t closed the door, the cub kept sending glances in Gilgamesh’s direction. She noticed and actually smiled a little.

“I think you made a conquest, Gilgamesh,” she couldn’t help pointing out.

To her slight exasperation, he wasn’t surprised – which told her that he clearly knew how attractive he was, both to animals and humans – but instead of looking smug, his expression was normal as he stared directly at Arturia.

“Perhaps that’s true, but it’s not the conquest I’m fighting for at the moment.” For the second time in a very short while, his eyes sharpened on her. “Let me know when you feel ready to marry me.”

Arturia’s face turned into a blank mask as she attempted to deal with the unexpected situation as rationally as possible.

She had known Gilgamesh for years and, while definitely exasperated on occasion, she had never felt uneasy in his presence. Right now, however, she suddenly felt uncomfortable about his presence in her house.

In spite of her carefully schooled features, he noticed this and, even though he couldn’t entirely conceal his disappointment, his voice sounded sincere as he calmly told her, “I see. I will endeavour to be patient for the one who is worth it, especially the one for whom I’m willing to tolerate nearly anything.”

His eyes did flicker briefly for a moment. “While I know you are not indifferent towards me, I will ask you – is there someone else?”

Her confusion must have been evident, because he astonishingly had the grace to look slightly displeased with himself.

“I intend to court you,” he clarified. “In fact, I have already been doing so. But I have to make sure you welcome it.”

“There’s no one else,” Arturia replied, the words blurting out before she could consider the consequences of what she was telling him.

He nodded at that, surprisingly not pressing her on the subject of courting, marriage or even relationships and seemingly slipping on a mask of his own.

“In that case, you should get ready for our dinner, as you promised. And worry not,” the briefest smile crossed his face, and she was surprised to hear the thumping of her heart at seeing it, “I will make sure the beast doesn’t escape while you change from your damp clothes.”

The tiger cub perked its ears, as if it had realized that the conversation had turned to it, and it abruptly scuttled out of its playroom, making a beeline for Gilgamesh with a series of impressive leaps that the crimson-eyed man regarded with some vague alarm.

Unable to suppress a smirk, Arturia impishly replied, “I give you my genuine thanks for that,” just as the cub landed against Gilgamesh’s chest after one last jump.

She left them on their own as she briefly went to change, knowing that nothing too bad was going to happen.

When she came back, she was extremely amused to find the cub and Gilgamesh engaged in a staring contest, and she approached them silently, watching carefully to determine the winner. After a few more tense seconds, Gilgamesh won, but it was a close call.

It seemed to her that he regarded the little tiger with some more respect now, and she had to suffocate a laugh when she realized that all it had taken was a _staring contest_.

As she took the now slightly sleepy cub to the playroom – this time making sure to close the door – and got ready to leave, she turned to glance at Gilgamesh. He returned the gaze questioningly.

“Gilgamesh – please do not kiss me again without warning.”

He grinned.

“So as long as I warn you, I can kiss you?”

Her expression was deadpan, but she managed to maintain it only for a moment before she glared at him.

“I’d like you to know some decency.”

“Precisely.” He flashed her another grin. “I’m politely asking for your permission to kiss you very, very often.” He seemed to consider for a second, then added, “Only when you agree to it.”

Arturia sighed, quite exasperated, and let out a huff as she closed the door behind them.

“Let’s just go to dinner.”

She had barely locked the door when his hand closed around her wrist and he was in front of her, looking at her with something stiff in his expression.

“Arturia – do you believe that I’m just playing some game with you?”

Trapped in such close quarters with him, she had no choice but to stare directly into his eyes and earnestly answer, “Yes. Yes, I do believe so.”

She felt a tremor run down the arm that was holding her, and she went on, “I find it hard to believe that you are being serious when you ask for such intimate gestures from me out of the blue.” It was as if her careful control over herself had finally slipped. “And may I remind you, Gilgamesh, that even though we have known each other for a long time, we are no more than acquaintances, and the action of kissing requires, I believe, a deeper emotional connection than that – at least if one wants the kiss to mean anything.”

He let go of her wrist as if he had been burnt, and she took it as her cue to leave; she had however taken only a couple of steps before he blocked her path once more. He stood right in front of her, but he didn’t try to touch her again.

“You are much more than an acquaintance to me, Arturia, and you are perfectly aware of that.”

His expression was guarded, but his eyes revealed the fact that he had felt insulted by her words.

She didn’t let that faze her and shot back, “Only because you consider me such, doesn’t mean that we actually are.” Her green eyes held sternness. “I do not consider my degree of acquaintance with you deep enough to permit kissing.”

In spite of her tone, which was far from welcoming, he stood firm.

“Then how will you explain the fact that you willingly kissed me back just a short while ago?”

Arturia wasn’t able to fight off her blush this time, somewhat displeased by the fact that he had noticed her earlier eagerness and that he had called her out on it – and that he could now see her blush.

It was however immature trying to deny the truth, therefore she attempted to explain it.

“I… wasn’t thinking straight. You distracted me.” There was something vaguely accusatory in her words, and he grinned at that, but it wasn’t enough to sway her from what she was trying to say. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about, Gilgamesh – you don’t care one bit about what I think or what I want. You just focus on your own desires, in this case kissing, and expect me to be ready to comply. And when I don't, you try to… distract me.”

It was obvious that this charge didn’t sit well with him, but she wasn’t done. “And I won’t deny that your method works. But in the end, it makes me think very ill of you, and it encourages me to keep my distance from you.”

There was now some frustration in her tone as well. “Why can you not be a considerate human being, Gilgamesh?!”

Her eyes were glaring at him, and she bit her lip to avoid lashing out at him again. She was on the verge of losing her patience, because she was now able to see things more clearly. She could not deny that she liked him, at least a little bit, but she was offended by the way he behaved, which didn’t show to be considerate of her wishes.

It was true that he had made amends after kissing her without consent, but only verbally, and she wasn’t sure she could trust his word. He was far too used to getting his way in anything he wanted, and she couldn’t help dreading that, if she gave in just a little, he would take it as permission to do whatever he wanted.

It was to her immense surprise therefore that he gave her a strange nod, as if he had just read her thoughts.

“In order to be with you, Arturia, I’m aware that I won’t have things my way.” There was a pause. “I’m ready to admit that.”

The reluctance at having to say it was obvious, but he _did_ say it, making her eyes widen in shock.

He didn’t add anything, and after waiting for a while, she told him, “I will come out to dinner with you because I promised I would. But to be absolutely clear, I do not wish to be one of your games, Gilgamesh.”

He had been listening to everything she said without interrupting and only offering a comment when she clearly expected one, but this was the first time he interrupted her.

“You may make your assumptions all you like, Arturia,” he held up a hand to stop her glare, “but I have never been taking you lightly, at least not since I fell in love with you and decided to propose to you.”

Even though she felt her cheeks heating up again, Arturia lifted an eyebrow.

“You are only proposing because you believe it will make me give in. You are frustrated that I’m not falling at your feet and you think that proposing is what will make you achieve your goal. But it’s obvious that in the end, you are only interested because I keep denying you.”

She suddenly took a step closer to him. “You don’t want _me_ , Gilgamesh. All you want is the challenge that I pose. You don’t care about me, you care about the thrill of pursuing me and the eventual one of conquering me. That’s what your game is all about–”

She knew she was basically rambling now; she wasn’t even sure what exactly she was saying anymore, but she knew it would provoke his anger. And if she appealed to his anger, she would make sure he pushed her away himself and left, solving the problem… and making sure she stopped feeling what she currently felt towards him at the same time.

“I’ve already told you that _this is no game_ , Arturia!”

The glimmer of fury she read in his eyes made her believe that she had managed to drive him away, but she was taken by surprise when she saw that he was fighting to keep his emotions under control.

“I know what you are trying to do,” he growled at her. “You are attempting to push me away while making sure _I’m_ the one to push you away.”

His voice suddenly turned unexpectedly gentle. “It won’t work.”

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again, not having a defence ready. He came closer to her, something oddly teasing appearing in his expression.

“It won’t work,” he repeated. “And not just because it’s impossible to drive me away from you. It won’t work because you promised to come out to dinner with me tonight, and I plan on making it our first date. Or rather,” he amended, looking unperturbed by the self-correction, “a _continuation_ of our first date.”

Arturia’s eyes widened as he slowly came even closer, taking her hand as he studied her face for any hint of refusal; since he found none, he brought her gloved fingers to his lips, kissing them softly.

“You didn’t believe I would just go out Christmas shopping with the first person who asked, did you?” His eyes flickered down to her neck briefly, where the new necklace was hidden behind her scarf. “You had no reason to ask me along this afternoon, yet you did.”

His eyes were now dancing on her, but there was no smugness in them as he concluded, “You wanted to spend time with me. So did I. So _do_ I. Dating is the best way to satisfy both our desires.”

He tilted his head to the side, a grin being barely held back. “Of course, the fact that I want to marry you one day may be part of my wish to date you, but I’m not asking for that. Not yet, at least.”

His expression was serious again. “I promised you I would not kiss you again without your permission, and I won’t. Now what I ask you is permission to date you.”

He stared at her very, very intently, and Arturia was forced to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. Gilgamesh never _asked_ for anything, especially not for permission; yet there he was, doing just that, even after she had thrown accusations at him.

“So is tonight’s dinner going to be a date, Arturia?”

And suddenly, she didn’t need to swallow anymore. He was _asking_ ; he was considering her wishes, he was giving her a choice without trying to decide for her – and she knew perfectly well how difficult it was for him to overcome his pride.

She knew, because even though she was hesitant about admitting it, he wasn’t just an _acquaintance_.

Arturia’s lips curved upwards slightly, in a way that most people wouldn’t have understood, but Gilgamesh, who knew her better than most people, could see the firm smile that was slowly appearing on her face.

“Yes. It is,” she said simply, and Gilgamesh smiled back.

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